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SLAM!: Support Music Mentorship in Los Angeles

SLAM! recruits and trains passionate college student volunteers to teach after-school music classes in underserved public high schools.

Roi Matalon

Education

Los Angeles, California

United States

11 Team Members

Wow! A heartfelt thank you to all of the incredible supporters who helped us to reach our goal. We are honored and inspired by your generosity. All those interested in supporting after May 1, 2014 are welcome to make a donation directly on our website..

Exciting Update!

Thanks to an incredible donor, all contributions to our campaign will be matched dollar for dollar! Your donation will have double its impact on our programs!

Who We Are

SLAM! Program Los Angeles, a project of Community Partners, engages a network of passionate college student volunteers to teach after-school music classes in underserved public high schools, filling the critical voids left by underfunded or nonexistent music programs. Through accessible, engaging, and tuition-free instruction, SLAM! develops instrumental skills, theoretical expertise, and musical camaraderie among young people.

SLAM! was founded in 2011 with a vision of bringing quality and affordable music instruction back into Los Angeles schools. What started out two years ago as a small pilot program at one public high school with a group of five passionate college student volunteers, has now rapidly grown into an expanding network of over fifty UCLA and USC SLAM! Volunteers offering music instruction at several high schools throughout Los Angeles County. These college students have contributed upwards of 5,000 hours of volunteer work to date and have opened the doors to music instruction to over 200 high school students.

Here's How it Works:

We create student organizations on college campuses that rally talented student musicians towards community engagement.

We target local high schools with the greatest need that have lost music programs to budget cuts.

We train and send our college volunteers to those schools to teach a variety of classes including Piano, Guitar, Percussion, Songwriting, Voice and Rock Band.

Why We Do What We Do

We believe that music fosters individuality, creativity, and a deep sense of fulfillment in young people and, as such, should be an essential part of our education system. Yet budget cuts in California have reduced the availability of music instruction in schools. In the last five years alone, Los Angeles Unified School District has cut arts education funding by 76%, and many schools have been left without resources to provide quality and affordable arts instruction for their students. Data from the 2012-2013 school year shows that more than 50% of high school students across Los Angeles County are not receiving any music instruction throughout all four years of high school. These ‘solutions’ to budget cuts deny our students a holistic educational experience and youth ultimately miss out on important platforms for creativity and self-expression.

Our programs involve students with a wide range of talent, experience, and skill level. Some students enroll in our classes with no musical background; meanwhile, others have spent countless hours teaching themselves to play the piano, guitar, or drums. What never ceases to amaze us is the passion and excitement our students have for learning music despite minimal opportunities previously available to learn to play or sing. One of our most talented students proudly shares that he learned how to play guitar from a homeless man while walking around downtown Los Angeles. This is such a testament to the gap in our students’ access to music instruction and the potential they have to become the next generation of accomplished musicians.

How You Can Help

SLAM! works closely with an after school provider at each partner high school. Thanks to their generous sponsorship of our operational costs, your contribution today goes directly to our classes and enables us to serve more students, offer more classes, and partner with more schools who desperately need a music program.

Of the $15,000 you're helping us raise, here's how the budget breaks down:

53% funds the purchase and storage of new instruments in preparation for our expansion to two additional high schools in the coming school year!

Your support today could mean the world to a young student tomorrow. With the ever-growing demand for our program, our volunteers and staff can only service so many schools and students. A donation of just $50 places a guitar into the hands of a student who might have otherwise been turned away from our classes. A donation of $100 opens our doors to one more aspiring pianist that could very well be the Billy Joel of his/ her generation.

Other Ways You Can Help

Supporting our campaign is just one of the many ways you can help grow and sustain our movement. A few other ways to get involved:

Share our campaign: Every contribution makes a difference to our program, even passing along our page to someone you think needs to know about us. Use the links above to share our campaign via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter.

In-kind donation: Have an instrument or other music gear you'd like to donate? All in-kind donations are fully tax-deductible. Check out our current Equipment Wishlist here and email us at info@slamprogram.org to schedule a pick up.

Volunteer with us: Our SLAM! university chapters are always on the look out for the best talent at UCLA and USC. SLAM! Volunteers commit four hours out of their schedule once a week to teach their class at an assigned high school. To learn more about why you should get involved, click here. Apply as a Bruin | Apply as a Trojan.

Bring SLAM! to your school: We are already planning our university and high school partnerships for next school year. Check out our current partners and email us at info@slamprogram.org if you don't see your school listed.

Join our Advisory Board: Our SLAM! Advisory Board is a group of passionate professionals who help us to grow our movement. Contact us for more information.

One school at a time, we are changing the landscape of music instruction in Los Angeles. Join us.

Flexible FundingThis campaign has ended and will receive all funds raised.

Campaign Closed

This campaign ended on May 1, 2014

Select a Perk

$10USD

Sponsor a student for a day!

Your gift covers the cost of offering music enrichment to one of our students for a single class. Our students learn quickly and every single class guides them on their way to musical competence!
In return for your donation, you will be listed as a supporter on our website and Facebook page. Be sure to check it out!

11
claimed

$20USD

Incident Donation Match

Thanks to a generous matching donation program sponsored by Incident Tech, all donors that select this Perk and donate $20 (OR MORE!) will have their donation matched by Incident. That means your donation will have 3X its impact on our programs!
By choosing this perk, you'll receive the perk valued at 2X the amount of your donation (i.e. - a $50 donation will receive the $100 perk, a $250 donation will receive the $500 Perk, etc.)
For more info on Incident Tech:
www.incidentgtar.com

19
claimed

$25USD

Sponsor a SLAM! Volunteer!

As a small token of our gratitude for their efforts, all SLAM! Volunteers are treated to an Appreciation Dinner during each programming session. Your gift covers the cost of all appreciation dinners for a volunteer over the course of a school year!
You'll be listed as a supporter on our website and Facebook page and receive a personalized thank you letter from one of our volunteers sharing more about their experience teaching music.

15
claimed

Estimated delivery: July 2014

$50USD

The Gift of a Guitar

Our classes fill up quickly and an additional guitar can mean another spot for a student who may have otherwise been waitlisted.
You will be added to our list of supporters on our website and Facebook page and receive a photo of one of our guitar classes along with a personalized letter from one of our students thanking you for your contribution.

11
claimed

Estimated delivery: July 2014

$100USD

The Gift of a Keyboard

A donation of $100 purchases a keyboard for an additional student in a SLAM! piano class.
You will be added to our list of supporters on our website and Facebook page and receive a photo of one of our piano classes along with a personalized letter from one of our students thanking you for your contribution.

12
claimed

Estimated delivery: July 2014

$250USD

Sponsor a student for a year!

Your gift covers the entire cost of offering music instruction to one of our students for an entire school year!
You'll be invited to a guided tour of our program where you'll get to see our classes in action. We'll also send you a signed photo (and video for non-locals) and list you as a supporter on our website and Facebook page.

4
claimed

Estimated delivery: October 2014

$500USD

A Class of Guitars

You have enabled us to purchase enough guitars for an entire SLAM! guitar class of ten students!
In return for your generous donation, you'll receive two tickets to a guided tour of our program followed by a catered reception. Non-locals will receive a personalized video from a SLAM! guitar class. You'll also receive all of the perks above and be listed as a member of our Founder's Circle on our website and marketing collateral.

2
claimed

Estimated delivery: October 2014

$1,000USD

A Class of Keyboards

You have enabled us to purchase enough keyboards for an entire SLAM! piano class of ten students!
In return for your generous donation, you'll receive four tickets to a guided tour of our program followed by a catered reception. Non-locals will receive a personalized video from a SLAM! piano class. You'll also receive all of the perks above and be listed as a member of our Founder's Circle on our website and marketing collateral.